The Milky Way's Black Holes Poster

A total of 22 black holes in binaries (plus our galaxy’s central supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*) have been found in the Milky Way - learn about their magnitudes, distance, mass, and more in this poster, exclusively from Astronomy magazine.

The idea of an object so massive that nothing can escape its gravity was first considered by John Michell in 1784. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that researchers found strong evidence that Cygnus X-1 — an ultra-bright X-ray source — was actually a ravenous black hole devouring a nearby star. Black holes can’t help but feed on any star that gets too close, ultimately giving themselves away.  This poster features a view of the 22 supermassive black holes in our galaxy, along with their locations, designations, right ascension, declination, and more.

Size: 11" x 17"